Karl Ittmann
@kittmann.bsky.social
72 followers 69 following 61 posts
Historian of Britain and the British Empire. Author of Fuelling Empire: The British Imperial Oil Complex 1896-1945 published by Oxford University Press June 2025.
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Reposted by Karl Ittmann
donzeko.bsky.social
This is almost literally what the English Civil War was fought over.
nytimes.com
President Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority to repurpose unspent federal funds to pay members of the military during the government shutdown, escalating his challenge to the authority of Congress on spending matters.
Trump Signs Memo Expanding His Authority to Spend Federal Money
The president gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wide authority to repurpose funds to pay members of the military without approval from Congress, which has the sole constitutional authority to decide federal spending.
nyti.ms
kittmann.bsky.social
Texas has been sanctioned repeatedly by the Federal government over its failures in special ed, including imposing an artificial limit on the percentage of students who could be classified as special ed.
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
etxgov.bsky.social
Starting a rumor that Greg Abbott intends to break Texas into 5 states to get 8 extra senators.
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
chanda.blacksky.app
This is a very big deal 🧵
dem8z.bsky.social
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!

The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
chanda.blacksky.app
"In the images of the area, even the sunlight looks different and otherworldly. I couldn’t figure out why, until I realised it was because there were no structures to filter it. No shade, no shadows. A home returned to is just a plot on which to pitch another tent and wait for aid."
While the perpetrators of Gaza’s genocide pose as its saviours, survivors return home – to a wasteland | Nesrine Malik
Western leaders attending the Sharm el-Sheikh summit have enabled and sponsored this slaughter. They are in no position to build a Palestinian future, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Somebody tell Trump there's an Argentinian banker in one of these houses.
newseye.bsky.social
NEW: There’s a disaster unfolding in Alaska right now. And no major network is covering it.

The remnants of Typhoon Halong battered western Alaska overnight. Homes, with people in them, have literally been swept into the Bering Strait.

At least 20 are missing. No comment from any federal agency.
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
susanschorn.bsky.social
18 more signatures will get this to 1,000. I know there are UT alumni on here who care about their school and academic freedom. Spread the word! www.change.org/p/alumni-urg...
Sign the Petition
Alumni urging UT Austin to reject the federal funding compact
www.change.org
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
tedmccormick.bsky.social
Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans
Image: A variation on Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” engraving, originally published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Each segment of the snake has the name of a university sent Trump’s “compact”: Texas, AZ, Vanderbilt, USC, Dartmouth, UVA, Brown, Penn, MIT.
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
jricole.bsky.social
please support independent journalism - & please repost
kittmann.bsky.social
So much for Khator protecting faculty.
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
alandettlaff.com
Yesterday I was told that the class I’m scheduled to teach this month, Confronting Oppression & Injustice, is no longer part of our curriculum. This is a required class yet there was no discussion, no faculty vote, just an email saying the class no longer exists. This is what it’s like in Texas now.
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
markuseichhorn.bsky.social
Mordecai Ogada is never afraid of challenging received opinion and always worth listening to. Before mythologising Jane Goodall we should recognise that she wasn't a hero to everyone in conservation.
rishpardikar.bsky.social
This is from a very prominent conservationist from Kenya
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
jbpritzker.bsky.social
- Indicting political rivals
- Suppressing dissent
- Rewriting history

These are all chapters in the authoritarian playbook, and Donald Trump is following them step by step. Now is not the time to stand on the sidelines; it’s time to make your voice heard.
Reposted by Karl Ittmann
oldmanhippy.com
This, my friends, is what we are heading back to if the Orange Buffoon and his cult have their way.
October 7, 1955: Ella Fitzgerald in a Houston jail cell for singing to an integrated audience.
kittmann.bsky.social
When I landed in England in 1984 and told the customs agent I was going to Bradford W. Yorks he said “why, it’s full of Pakis.” Got the same response from a cab driver spouting Reform lies this summer.